Backman, Little Named All-America

DETROIT, Mich. -- Sean Backman (Cos Cob, Conn.)
and Broc Little (Rindge, N.H.), the leading goal scorers on this
season’s Yale men’s hockey team, have been named to the
2010 Reebok All-America second team. It is the first time that
either Bulldog has been selected to an All-American squad. The
announcement was made today at Ford Field in Detroit during the
NCAA Frozen Four.

Backman, who was signed by the Dallas Stars last month, was a
first-team All-ECAC pick and the 2009-10 Ivy League Player of the
Year. He had 21 goals and 35 points.

He finished fourth at Yale with 77 career goals, while his 126
points place him seventh. His 126 points in 122 games put him in a
select class of current Division I players who have over 100 games
and as many points as games played.

This year, Backman had a point in 19 of 29 outings this winter
and was third in Division I with .72 goals per game.

He was second-team All-ECAC last year after leading his team
with 20 goals. Backman, a four-time, first-team All-Ivy selection,
was 2009 ECAC Tournament MVP.

Little, whose .79 goals per game led the nation, finished with
27 goals, a Yale record for juniors. His season total is second
most among Division I players and done with five fewer games than
the top scorer. He had 41 points and made first-team All-ECAC
and Ivy League while earning Player of the Month (Feb.) by the
Hockey Commissioner’s Association.

Little is second in Division I with seven game-winning goals.
His 27 goals (34 games) are the most by a Bulldog since Jeff
Hamilton ’01 had 27 in 1997-98. He has 53 goals and 99 points
in 95 career games.

The two Bulldogs helped Yale win a second straight ECAC Hockey
regular season championship in 2009-10. The Elis went 21-10-3
overall, beat North Dakota in the NCAA Regionals and came within a
game of playing at Ford Field this weekend. Boston College, which
beat Yale in the Northeast Regional, plays Wisconsin, which the
Elis tied at the Badger Showdown in January, in the Frozen Four
title game on Saturday.